Dissolving Dualism Dissolving Dualism A Tripartite Model of Cognition for Religious Truth Elena Kalmykova Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in Universitetshuset, sal IV, Biskopsgatan 3, Uppsala, Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 10:15 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in English. Abstract Kalmykova, E. 2011. Dissolving Dualism. A Tripartite Model of Cognition for Religious Truth. Teologiska institutionen. 244 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-506-2211-9. This investigation can be described as a long journey to a final destination: a truth in religion. We start by considering dualism of the subjective and the objective, the classical model of cognition that underlies notions of truth. Dualistic notions of cognition lead to serious prob- lems, especially or religious truth. Religions claim to state truths about the nature of the un- iverse and human destiny, but these truths are incompatible. With a dualistic model this prob- lem of diversity of religious truths leads to fundamentalism or relativism. Thus, this research aims to turn to the roots of the cognitive situation and investigate the way we cognize and relate to the world to provide a better model. As we consider the philosophical theories and empirical investigations of cognition, we come to the conclusion that dualism of the subjective and objective is not tenable. As the findings of contemporary mind sciences and phenomenologically oriented research indicate, human cognition is embodied, embedded, enacted, extended, and shaped by language. Thus, I propose to re-conceptualize the cognitive situation to provide a better philosophical account. I put forward a tripartite model of cognition, which unites language, action, and environment. The consequent application of this model to the issues of truth and religion shows that we can avoid the problem of diversity of truth claims. A tripartite model allows us to explain how we can maintain religion as true, despite the diversity of religious truth claims. Additionally, as this model is fundamental, its application leads to various new findings and inferences, which render anew the world and the way humans relate to it. Thus, our journey brings us to new frontiers of investigation. Keywords: truth, religious truth, embodied cognition, dualism, Merleau-Ponty, phenomenolo- gy, cognitive science, neurophilosophy, model of cognition, theories of truth, language, mea- ningfulness, meaning, subjective, objective, intersubjective, scientific realism, social con- structivism, Wittgenstein, white spaces, agency, gaps in cognition, enacted cognition, ex- tended cognition, embedded cognition, epistemology, philosophy and empirical investigation Elena Kalmykova, Studies in Faith and Ideologies, Philosophy of Religion, Box 511, Uppsala University, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden. © Elena Kalmykova 2011 ISBN 978-91-506-2211-9 urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-150622 (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-150622) Printed in Sweden by Universitetstryckeriet, Uppsala, 2011. To the memory of my mother Contents Acknowledgments......................................................................................... 11 Introduction ................................................................................................... 13 PART I: CONCEPTUALIZATIONS ........................................................... 21 1 What is subjective ................................................................................ 23 1.1 Sketching the field of inquiry: folk notions of the subjective ......... 24 1.2 Conceptualizations of the subjective ............................................... 28 1.2.1 The Cartesian disembodied subject ....................................... 30 1.2.2 The Kantian approach ............................................................ 31 1.2.3 Challenge to the classical conception of the subjective: phenomenology ................................................................................... 35 1.3 Summary ......................................................................................... 38 2 What is objective ................................................................................. 41 2.1 Folk notions of the objective ........................................................... 43 2.2 Conceptualizations of the objective ................................................ 47 2.3 Objectivity in scientific realism ...................................................... 49 2.3.1 Critique of scientific realism .................................................. 54 2.4 Social constructionism and the objective ........................................ 58 2.4.1 Critiques of the sociological approach ................................... 61 2.5 Language depicting the objective world ......................................... 63 2.6 The structure of the objective and conceptual schemes .................. 69 2.6.1 Two kinds of world ................................................................ 72 2.7 Summary ......................................................................................... 73 PART II: EMPIRICAL ISSUES ................................................................... 75 3 Empirical approaches to the cognitive situation .................................. 77 3.1 The results of the conceptual investigation ..................................... 77 3.2 Using empirical findings for philosophy ......................................... 80 3.3 Methodology of the investigation ................................................... 81 4 Phenomenologically-oriented research ................................................ 86 4.1 Embodied cognition ........................................................................ 87 4.2 Enacted cognition ............................................................................ 91 4.3 Action in perception ........................................................................ 94 4.4 Embedded, extended and situated cognition ................................... 97 4.5 Summary ....................................................................................... 100 5 Findings of cognitive science ............................................................ 101 5.1 Cognitive science and physics on the limits of cognition ............. 102 5.2 The particularity of scientific accounts ......................................... 103 5.3 Perceptual limitations .................................................................... 105 5.4 Cognitive limitations ..................................................................... 106 5.5 Guidelines in cognition ................................................................. 108 5.6 Construction and filling of the gaps .............................................. 112 5.7 Intersubjectivity and limitations .................................................... 114 5.8 Cognitive limitations and strategies: conclusion ........................... 116 5.9 Summary ....................................................................................... 118 6 Empirical issues of language ............................................................. 120 6.1 Language as a system implemented in humans ............................ 121 6.2 Against objectification of language .............................................. 124 6.3 Language functioning in cognition ............................................... 126 6.4 Packing of reality into language .................................................... 127 6.5 Influence of language upon perception ......................................... 129 6.6 Embodied comprehension of language ......................................... 134 6.7 Language understanding in action ................................................ 136 6.8 Language in communication with oneself .................................... 138 6.9 Language in cognition: conclusions .............................................. 142 6.10 Concluding remarks on empirical and conceptual issues ......... 144 PART III: APPLICATION ......................................................................... 147 7 Re-conceptualization of the cognitive situation ................................. 149 7.1 The results of the work done ......................................................... 149 7.1.1 The answers we have found ................................................. 152 7.1.2 The cognitive situation re-approached ................................. 153 7.2 Conceptual restructuring of the cognitive situation ...................... 155 7.2.1 Re-conceptualization against folk notions of cognition ....... 161 8 The parts of the triangle of cognition................................................. 164 8.1 Environment .................................................................................. 164 8.1.1 The structure of the environment ......................................... 164 8.1.2 Body as a part of the environment ....................................... 166 8.1.3 Intersubjectivity in environment .......................................... 168 8.2 Language ....................................................................................... 170 8.2.1 A non-representational approach to language ...................... 170 8.2.2 Performative function of language....................................... 172 8.2.3 The human role in language-driven action .......................... 173 8.2.4 Meaningfulness in action and meaning in language-games . 174 8.2.5 The enacted and embodied functions